


Hot For Teacher

by flowerfan



Category: Glee
Genre: AU, Drama in the drama department, Dreamy new orchestra director, First Meeting, M/M, Romance, kurt big bang fic, teacher!Blaine, teacher!kurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-01 02:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8603617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowerfan/pseuds/flowerfan
Summary: When dreamy new orchestra director Blaine Anderson shows up at Mountain High, an arts school near L.A., Kurt doesn’t plan on having much to do with him.  Kurt just wants to keep his head down and do his job, heading up the choral program and making sure Rachel doesn’t go overboard with her drama students.   It’s hard enough admitting that he needs a break from his acting career without adding failed romance to the equation.  But when even Rachel succumbs to Blaine's charms, Kurt decides to see for himself what Blaine is like.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2016 Kurt Hummel Big Bang. Many thanks to the wonderful mel47mel for creating such beautiful art for this story – it was a pleasure to work with such a talented artist. Give her some love directly here: https://youtu.be/zSM7LjndiPk. And thanks as always to my dear friend and wonderful beta perry_avenue (perryavenue on tumblr), without whom this fandom life would not be nearly as much fun. 
> 
> Thanks also to blackrose1002 (dont-stop-believin-in-klaine on tumblr) for giving me the original idea for this fic.

Kurt figures he must have missed the email in the flurry of back to school activity. But as he files in to the first teacher orientation meeting of the year, shuffling around the circle of chairs to make space for several late arrivals, Rachel is quick to fill him in.

“There’s a new orchestra director. Easy on the eyes, isn’t he? Although apparently he hasn’t taught high school before.”

Kurt leans forward and looks down the row, but the athletic director is blocking his view. All he can see is that the new teacher is wearing bright red pants and boat shoes. “Did Mr. Cortez retire?”

Rachel nods. “Sort of. I think Sue kicked him out. Something about not showing sufficient respect for her royal highness.”

“She’s not royalty, no matter what she says. I checked.”

“And yet she still insists we bow down to her.” Rachel mocks a curtsey – it doesn’t work very well, from her seated position. But Kurt gets it. Sue Sylvester is nothing if not arrogant, although she does seem to have a soft spot for Kurt. At least, when compared to how she treats Rachel.

Once everyone quiets down, Sue says a few words, mostly about how she is prepared to do whatever it takes (and this makes Kurt cringe) to make Mountain High the very best small-to-mid-size charter high school in the state. Kurt leans over and softly sings “Rocky Mountain High” into Rachel’s ear, which causes her to frown and elbow him in the ribs – they have an ongoing debate over whether the John Denver song would be a perfect anthem for the school, or whether, as Rachel points out every time, it is disqualified because the lyrics make clear that the mountain in question is in “Colorado” and “we are in California, Kurt, not Colorado.”

Sue plants herself back in her seat, and then everyone goes around the room, each staff member saying their name and giving a quick introduction. There’s a new art teacher, too, and Kurt nods appreciatively – with Kurt teaching chorus, Rachel in drama, and the new orchestra guy, finally they might have an arts department worth its name. For an ambitious school outside of L.A. which brags about its dedication to the arts, Kurt often thought they confused facility with faculty; having a state of the art auditorium doesn’t do much if the students aren’t taught well enough to take advantage of it.

Kurt spaces out a little, bored with everyone’s stories of how they justify teaching instead of continuing to pursue their true passion, which except for just a few of them, is making it big in Hollywood. It’s only to be expected in this area of the state – you can’t take a step without tripping over a failed actor.

Kurt only comes back to attention when Rachel starts to talk. Of course, she spends longer on her bio than anyone else, never failing to point out her bicoastal successes on stage and screen. “But I thought it was time to give something back,” she concludes, “and that’s why I’m so proud to be beginning my second year as drama director.”

More like you still couldn’t find a role you thought was good enough for you, Kurt thinks to himself, as he gives a quick introduction. “Kurt Hummel, also formerly of New York City, happy to be running the choral program again.” He knows saying that he’s “running the choral program” may be a bit of an exaggeration – there’s just the Glee club, the larger non-auditioned chorus, and occasional small group voice lessons – but hey, no one else is running it, so he might as well take the title.

Kurt’s trying to listen for the orchestra director, but just as his turn comes around the fire alarm goes off, and the meeting is interrupted. He catches a glimpse of curly dark hair and a cheerful smile, but then the new guy is swamped by well wishers. Kurt is fine with hanging back. There will be plenty of time to catch him at the next boring meeting.

*****  
Oddly, Kurt never does seem to have a chance to say hello to the new teacher. He learns his name quickly enough, though, as the entire staff seems to be talking about him. 

“Blaine brought in donuts for everyone this morning, isn’t that nice, Kurt?” he hears from Maisie, the receptionist, as he comes in for the first full day of classes. Not really, he thinks. He doesn’t need any sugary snacks messing with his diet, thank you very much.

“Anderson wants to get a group together to play softball on Saturday – you in?” Pedro, the oversized athletic director asks, blocking Kurt’s progress down the hall. 

“Sorry, busy.” As if he’d want to spend his precious Saturday playing softball. The dust alone would cost him a fortune in dry cleaning.

It’s not just the staff that is enamored with Mr. Anderson, either. His third period chorus class is right after orchestra, and every day he hears more kids talking about their new teacher, who, apparently, according to one rather outspoken tall senior, “is sex on a stick and sings like a dream.” Kurt isn’t sure why the orchestra guy is singing to his students, and vaguely wonders whether anything inappropriate is going on. But he’s got classes to teach, and he refuses to get distracted, no matter how dreamy Blaine might be.

(He is, for better or for worse, able to confirm the dreaminess of said teacher when he bumps into him coming out of the faculty lounge the next day. He’s got huge, luminous eyes, like a Disney prince, and Kurt has barely managed to catch his breath when Blaine flashes a ridiculous smile at him, apologizes profusely, and rushes off to second period. Presenting his unquestionably pert ass as he goes.)

Even if he had wanted to, it would be impossible to ignore Mr. Bright-Eyed-and-Bushy-Tailed. On Tuesday, Kurt’s best soloist in Glee nags him to set her voice lesson schedule for the entire first quarter, explaining that Mr. Anderson wants to put together a jazz combo and she wants to make sure the rehearsals won’t conflict. A jazz combo? Since when have any of these kids even heard of jazz?

The next day, three of his struggling students that usually jump at any chance for extra credit suddenly can’t make an optional performance at the senior center on Thursday night, since they are auditioning for wind ensemble. Kurt hadn’t even realized they played instruments.

The final straw comes on a Friday afternoon. Kurt is setting up in the choir room, ready for the Glee club to run through “Don’t Stop Believing” one more time before they break for the week, when two sophomore girls come in, one with her arm tightly around the other. Several kids run to join them, everyone chattering in such high pitched tones that Kurt’s ears are aching.

“What’s going on here?” he asks, and the sophomore in the middle of the huddle, Julia, looks up at him with wide eyes. 

“Oh, hi, Mr. Hummel. I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“She had a panic attack,” one of the other kids volunteers. “In orchestra. Right when she was supposed to play the piccolo part, you know, in the Star Spangled Banner where it goes-” the kid tries to sing the piping melody, waving his arms around, and Kurt suppresses a cringe.

“It was scary,” Julia says. “And Mr. Anderson-”

“What did he do?” Kurt snaps, his throat tight. Doesn’t this guy understand how to work with high schoolers? What business did the school have hiring him, anyway?

“Oh my god, he was wonderful!” Anita squeals. “He sat down right next to Julia, and told her to breathe with him. He counted for her – it was just like something out of a movie!”

“It totally worked, I felt better right away.” Julia takes in a deep breath and shakes her head. “I don’t know what I would have done if Mr. Anderson wasn’t there. He was so calm. So comforting.”

“Did you see his face? He was completely in the moment,” Tyler adds. “Like nothing was more important than making sure she was okay.”

“Sure you were just looking at his face, Tyler?” someone teases, and Tyler’s face goes red. “’Cause from that angle, all you could really see was his ass.”

“All right, enough of that,” Kurt announces. “Julia, you good to rehearse now?” He sighs as the kids take their places. Kurt isn’t proud of the fact that apparently he and 16-year-old Tyler are both admiring the same ass, but regardless, the show must go on.

Later that night, alone in his apartment, Kurt can’t help remembering the awe on his students’ faces as they talked about Mr. Anderson. Blaine. He considers the possibility that he has misjudged Mountain High’s newest pretty face. Kurt sighs and flops over, pulling the covers with him as he goes. Blaine seems to be a very good teacher, and he’s obviously charming the entire school. Clearly, Kurt is going to have to see for himself whether Mr. Bright and Bushy-Tailed lives up to the hype, without falling under his Disney prince spell.

*****  
Kurt arrives late to the faculty meeting the following week. He had gotten stuck on a phone call with his agent, who apparently thinks that appearing on a reality show would be a good move for him. Kurt thinks for the hundredth time that he really needs to find a different agent. He may not have had a decent role in a few years, but the roles he has taken were always ones he was proud of – and while he loves a good Survivor marathon as much as the next guy, he’s not about to star in it.

Kurt sits at the back of the room, looking through his phone for the agenda that Rachel, in her role as faculty moderator, sent around this morning. Apparently they have reached item number three, “Activities to Promote the School and Our Own Careers.” It doesn’t actually say that on the document, but from what Rachel is saying, it’s clear that’s what is going on.

“This is a project I have had great success with in the past – some of you may remember it? We were able to place twelve dogs in good homes, and had coverage from all the major newspapers.” She looks around the room, seeking approval, and then seems to remember something. “Oh, and it will look great on the students’ resumes when they audition – or, you know, apply to college.”

Several teachers express their hesitance. Kurt can guess why they initially don’t like the idea – first, because it came from Rachel, and second, because they are all inherently lazy, at least in his opinion. He sits back and stretches out his legs, crossing his ankles in front of him.

Suddenly, however, a new voice speaks up. A smooth, lovely voice. One that Kurt wouldn’t mind hearing more of, except maybe not in this context. Damn it, it’s Blaine again.

“Rachel? If I may, I think it’s a great idea. Really creative, and it achieves our goals on a number of different levels. In particular, I think what these kids really need is a chance to get outside of their daily grind. Spending some time with animals is a great way for that to happen. Everyone loves animals, right?” Blaine pauses, and the teachers near him nod begrudgingly. No one is going to admit to not loving animals. They aren’t monsters, after all.

Blaine continues. “I’m happy to co-chair the event with you-” he apparently sees the slight frown on Rachel’s face “or, be, you know, your assistant. Whatever I can do to help.”

Rachel beams, and Kurt sighs. Not only another win for Blaine, but now Rachel is going to be unbearable.

*****  
Two weeks later, Kurt decides to bite the bullet. It’s downright weird that he and Blaine haven’t yet had a real conversation. It’s some kind of combination of Kurt’s natural reluctance to get too close to adorable straight boys and jealousy of Blaine’s seemingly effortless ability to endear himself to everyone around him, but Kurt is fairly self-aware, and he knows he’s being a little ridiculous. Blaine is a member of his department, he’s got the students excited about music, and there’s no reason to keep avoiding him.

Kurt makes his way down the hall towards the orchestra room. They have an opportunity for a gig at a fall festival in a few weeks, and he thinks that maybe the jazz combo could take turns doing sets with the Glee club. They might even try to work out a joint number, teach the Glee kids “Summertime” (Anita could definitely pull it off) or something else the jazz group has been working on (he thinks he heard “Girl From Ipanema” coming from the auditorium the other day – a classic).

The door to the rehearsal room is propped open, and Kurt is just about to go in, when he hears Blaine’s voice. Unfortunately, this time it doesn’t sound quite so sonorous.

“No, it’s fine. I get it.” Blaine’s words are clipped. “Obviously that’s more important. It’s not like we planned this weeks ago or anything.” 

Kurt hears the squeak of a chair scraping against the floor, and then Blaine speaks up again.

“Whatever, Cooper. I’ve got work to do. You go do you. I’ll see you when you get back.” 

Kurt hears a loud noise – a hand slamming against the desk, he thinks – and quickly retreats back down the hall. He can recognize a private conversation when he hears one; he just wishes he hadn’t heard it. That Cooper must really be a jerk, to get peaceful Blaine riled up like that. He had assumed Blaine was straight, but maybe that was just Rachel’s wishful thinking taking over, because that definitely sounded like a lover’s quarrel. Kurt pushes away the unasked for flash of hope that leaps in his chest – Blaine might be gay, or he might not. But he is definitely attached, and that’s not something Kurt intends to get involved in.

It isn’t until the next day, when Julia asks whether the jazz combo will be coming to the gig, that Kurt realizes he still hasn’t talked to Blaine about it. Before he can figure out a plan, Julia volunteers to talk to the bass player, Sarita teases Julia about her crush on the bass player, Tyler teases Sarita about her crush on Julia, and Kurt is fully occupied with trying to get his singers back on track. He is simply going to have to work out his issues with Blaine some other time.

*****  
Kurt comes into the faculty lounge one afternoon and sighs when he sees the empty pot of coffee. He’s got a piercing headache and had really hoped for some caffeine before Glee rehearsal. Sadly, he doesn’t have time to make another pot, not if he wants to go over the tenor part with Tyler before the rest of the kids get there.

Before he can make his exit, however, a voice calls to him from the other side of the room. “Hey, Kurt. Why don’t you join us?”

Kurt looks over to see Blaine sitting with three other teachers, none of whom look particularly pleased at Blaine’s invitation. “Sorry, gotta get back to class,” he replies flatly, and leaves the room without further discussion. As he goes he hears one of the women mutter “still thinks he’s too good for us, doesn’t he?” It’s nothing new. He can’t help it if he takes his job seriously.

*****  
Kurt waves goodbye to Rachel as he heads out of the building. It’s been a long day, but a good one. He and Rachel actually managed to have a productive meeting about plans for the school musical, narrowing their choices down to _Little Shop of Horrors_ or _Legally Blond,_ either of which Kurt would be happy with. They’ve got a fairly solid group of girls and boys that are interested in the show this year, and Kurt is pretty sure they can fill the lead roles in either production without having to resort to the ones who really can’t carry a tune. And he knows Julia and Anita would kill to be in _Legally Blonde,_ and he could probably convince Tyler and Jake to try out if they do _Little Shop._

Next on the list is talking to Blaine. Ideally, he’ll work together with them on the music for the show, and run the pit orchestra. If Blaine isn’t interested, they’ll hire someone from elsewhere in the district, but given how gung-ho he is about everything at Mountain High Kurt can’t imagine that he’ll turn them down. Rachel insists that Kurt talk to him now, before they settle on one show or the other, in case he’s got strong feelings about either score.

“Buy-in is critical, Kurt,” she had explained unnecessarily. “If Blaine feels like he’s part of the team, he’ll be more excited about the project.”

Kurt thinks this is particularly rich coming from Rachel, who comes up with ridiculous plans and pushes them down people’s throats like they should be grateful for it, but he just nods and smiles and promises to talk to Blaine.

An opportunity presents itself sooner than he expects, when he finds Blaine sitting dejectedly in the front courtyard. He’s camped out on a bench, head resting in his hands, and Kurt can’t help but wonder if he’s okay.

“Blaine?”

“Oh – Kurt. Hi.” Blaine looks embarrassed, and quickly stands up. “How are you?” he says, somewhat automatically.

“I’m fine. How are you?” 

“Oh, I’m fine,” Blaine replies. “Nice day, isn’t it?”

Kurt frowns. It’s overcast, and looks like it’s about to rain any second. “Well, it’s nice in the sense that classes are over.”

Blaine sighs and runs his hand through his (lovely, touchable – don’t think about him like that, Kurt!) curls. “I’m sorry, I’m a little out of sorts.” He plops back down on the bench, and Kurt carefully sits down next to him.

“Care to share?”

Blaine looks at him, considering, and then gives a sort of “might as well” shrug. “My car is in the shop. Cooper was supposed to pick me up, and he forgot. Or, well, he didn’t actually forget – he just made other plans, and didn’t tell me about them.”

“That’s not particularly thoughtful.”

Blaine huffs out a laugh. “Thoughtful? That’s the last word I’d use to describe him. How about self-centered, irresponsible, inconsiderate…?”

“Sounds like your boyfriend is kind of a dick.” No one ever accused Kurt of having much of a filter.

The look of shock on Blaine’s face is priceless, and then he lets out a long, cackling laugh. “Boyfriend? Oh god, no, he’s not my boyfriend. Cooper’s my idiot brother.”

Kurt can feel the flush rise on his cheeks, and immediately backtracks. Damn it, Rachel was right. He is straight. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed…”

But Blaine can apparently read minds, and graciously clears up the misunderstanding. “I haven’t had a boyfriend for almost two years. And if I did, I would never stand for that kind of behavior.”

“As well you shouldn’t.” Kurt chances a smile at Blaine, who smiles right back, his mouth quirking up at the edge. “Anyway…” Kurt stands up, and extends a hand to Blaine. “What do you say I give you a ride home, since neither your idiot brother nor your nonexistent boyfriend are coming to get you?”

*****  
The ride to Blaine’s house is the perfect opportunity to talk about the school musical, and predictably, Blaine is excited to work on it. He says he’d be thrilled to work on either production, but suggests that he take a quick look at the music and see if either of them seem better suited to the group of kids they think will take part. “But I’m sure we can make either one work, Kurt,” he babbles enthusiastically. “This is going to be so much fun!”

It’s not until they pull up at the address Blaine had typed into Kurt’s GPS that things take a more serious turn. Kurt pulls into the driveway and stares up at a charming Queen Anne style home, complete with turrets and colorful accents on the trim. “Nice place,” he can’t help commenting, and now it’s Blaine’s turn to blush.

“It was my parents’ house,” he explains. “Now Cooper lives here.”

“And you,” Kurt says.

“And me.” Blaine starts to open the passenger door, then turns back to Kurt. “Do you want to come in for a little while? Cooper’s obviously not home. I could make you some tea or something.”

“As long as you promise to give me a tour.”

Blaine smiles. “Deal.”

The house is beautiful inside, although Blaine dashes around nervously for a few minutes shoving what he claims are Cooper’s piles of random stuff into more condensed piles. 

“Sorry,” he says. “Cooper isn’t much of a housekeeper, and he’s used to living alone.”

“So how did you end up here with him?”

Blaine pulls two mugs out of a cabinet, and sets a kettle of water to boil on the stove, while Kurt takes a seat at the kitchen island. “Our parents passed away a few years ago, and Cooper was already living in the area, so he didn’t waste any time moving in. But he didn’t do a very good job dealing with their estate, and over time a bunch of tasks kind of piled up – there’s another property that still needs to be sold, my dad’s business still hasn’t been properly wound up, there are some tax issues… anyway, I realized that if I didn’t come figure it out myself, we’d both regret it. So I took a year of leave from Julliard, and here I am.”

Blaine keeps his eyes firmly affixed on the bags of tea he is placing in the mugs as he tells his story. Kurt gets the feeling it is a bit more painful to talk about then he is letting on, but he isn’t about to call him on it.

“I’m so sorry about your parents. That must have been tough.”

Blaine’s eyes flicker up to Kurt’s. “Yeah, it was. Thanks. It was sudden, though – car accident. People say that makes it easier.”

“I’m not sure there’s any easy way to lose your parents.”

Blaine studies Kurt’s face then, and Kurt again gets the feeling that Blaine is reading his mind. “I hope you’re not saying that from experience.”

“I lost my mom when I was eight. My dad’s had some health scares since then, but fortunately he’s been doing well lately. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”

Blaine nods. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

“Thanks.”

The kettle whistles, and Blaine pours their tea and sets the mugs on the island. He plates a few cookies from a box on the counter and then sits down next to Kurt. “Here you go.”

The news about Blaine’s parents had distracted Kurt from another interesting fact Blaine had revealed, and he can’t hold back his question any longer. “So, Julliard? Are you a student?”

Blaine laughs, and Kurt almost kicks himself at how his heart leaps at the sound. “Nope. Graduated four years ago. I teach in the music department, and do some composing in my spare time. I also help run the pre-college program.”

Kurt remembers something Rachel said. “What’s the pre-college program?”

“Julliard offers classes on weekends for super-talented high school kids. They come in to the city from all over the area to study. It’s pretty cool.”

“So you have taught before. High-schoolers, even.”

“Well, yeah.” Blaine gives Kurt a curious look. “Have I seemed particularly incompetent since I got here?”

“No, not at all,” Kurt is quick to assure him. “Rachel told me you hadn’t taught high school before, and I assumed that meant you were, you know, brand new at this. But obviously you aren’t.”

Blaine doesn’t look particularly appeased.

“And frankly, even if you were brand new, you’re doing a fantastic job. The kids love you. They can’t stop talking about the opportunities you’re giving them. They’re always so excited when they come into my third period class. It’s quite an accomplishment.”

“Really?” Blaine’s expression changes in a flash - Kurt’s not sure he’s ever seen Blaine look this happy, not even when Rachel praised him for his help on her charity dog project.

“Really. Not to mention that all the teachers want to be your new best friend. Or date you.”

“Wow. Thanks. That’s, um, that’s good to hear.”

“It’s true.”

Blaine fiddles with the string of his tea bag, then looks up at Kurt through his eyelashes. His ridiculously long eyelashes. “Does that apply to you?”

“Does what apply to me?” Kurt wonders if Blaine’s lashes brush the inside of those silly yellow sunglasses he’s seen him wearing. It’s criminal.

“You want to be my new best friend. Or…”

_Or date me,_ Kurt supplies in his head. Now’s your chance, Hummel, he thinks. Don’t screw it up.

“Yes, actually.”

Blaine’s eyes go wide, and then he giggles. “I suppose I should have finished that sentence, just to be clear.”

Kurt grins. “To be clear, yes, I would like to go on a date with you. What do you say?”

“As if you had any doubt – but to be clear, yes, I would.”


	2. Chapter 2

Moving to California from New York had been more of a change than Blaine had bargained for. It had seemed like a good idea at the time – take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, spend some quality time with Cooper, and make sure all of his parents’ affairs were properly wound up. A colleague at Julliard helped him find the job at Mountain High, and it seemed like everything was going to be perfect.

Until he got here, that is. Cooper was busy and generally not very interested in hanging out, and from what his parents’ attorney had told him, the estate was definitely a mess but not really something that required his physical presence to sort through. While he hadn’t had a boyfriend for a while, he missed his friends. Sam had promised to come out and visit, but his job working with foster kids didn’t exactly pay him enough for a flight out to California. Blaine missed volunteering at the music program Sam had organized, he missed the cool fall weather and the changing leaves, and he missed his colleagues at Julliard. 

Mountain High, however, had turned out to be (rather fittingly) a breath of fresh air. Blaine had always enjoyed working in the Julliard pre-college program, but working at Mountain High brought with it a very different challenge that never came up at Julliard. Unlike the talented students there who had already dedicated hundreds of hours to honing their skills, many of the kids at Mountain High didn’t have any idea of the joy and satisfaction studying music could bring them, and weren’t necessarily interested in hearing about it. But present it in the right way, and they came alive.

Blaine had quickly decided that giving kids the opportunity to be in some smaller groups as well as the general one-size-fits-all orchestra was the way to motivate them to practice as well as explore different genres. So far both the jazz combo and the wind ensemble were proving to be very popular with both the students and their parents. The kids loved the attention he could pay them in smaller groups, and as a result, they were more likely to come prepared to rehearse. And it was much easier to take a small group out to a gig, where the kids could show off what they learned and have some fun as well. He was looking forward to the fall festival where they would be performing with the Glee club. And now, with his new-found friendship with Kurt Hummel, he had even more reason to be excited.

Blaine still isn’t sure whether whatever is going on with Kurt is friendship or something more. Although they had talked about going on a date when Kurt drove him home last week, so far nothing had been scheduled. When Kurt went home that night they both promised to talk soon, but when Blaine showed up at school on Monday, hoping maybe that Kurt would join him for lunch in the faculty lounge, his hopes were dashed. Once again, Kurt merely flitted in and out, refusing to join him and the two history teachers who were sitting with him at the table. He knows Kurt is hesitant about being too open in front of the other teachers – Kurt had explained that he didn’t want to give them any other reason to dislike him. Blaine isn’t sure, however, why just being friendly at school would make the other teachers take offense. 

Blaine doesn’t understand how the Kurt he sees at school – so distant and serious – is the same light-hearted, caring person who had driven him home when Cooper stood him up. The same person who talks so tenderly about losing his mom, and his love for his father. The same person who giggled with delight when Blaine asked if he wanted to go on a date with him. Kurt Hummel is a mystery, but Blaine figures a little investigative work is well worthwhile.

And it isn’t just because Kurt is one of the most striking men Blaine has ever seen (sexy, really, he is downright sexy, but that seems wrong to think about in a high school) but the qualities Kurt had revealed to him that day – from his outrage at Cooper’s behavior, to his immediate offer to drive him home, to his willingness to share his own story as they sat drinking their tea – shows him that there is indeed a very special person hidden behind Kurt’s nonchalant cover story. If Kurt is willing to open himself up to Blaine when they are in private, clearly Blaine needs to develop a thicker skin when it comes to seeing him at school, and just find another way to get him alone. For example, that date.

Unfortunately Kurt is really hard to catch by himself. Blaine knows he could just get his number from Rachel and call him up, but he feels so uncertain about the whole thing, he thinks it would be better to be able to see Kurt’s face when they talked. 

When Rachel texts him about a planning meeting for the school musical, he thought for sure he’d have his chance. They agree to meet the next afternoon in the chorus room. But when Blaine arrives, Rachel and Kurt are already deep into a debate about which show to do, which quickly turns into a full out argument, complete with waving hands and raised voices. Finally Rachel blinks up at Blaine, almost surprised to see him there.

“Fine. We can let Blaine decide.”

Blaine feels his stomach sink. There is no way he wants to get in the middle of these two. “I think either show would be a lot of fun.”

Kurt grumbles something about fun not being the only consideration, and Blaine’s hackles go up. “I already checked over the scores – both shows are musically in line with what our kids in the orchestra can handle. That’s my area of expertise, and I’ve given my opinion. Let me know what you decide and I’ll get to work.”

“But surely you like one better than the other?” Rachel almost whines, and Blaine stands up, disbelieving.

“Do you really expect me to weigh in on this, after the things you two have been saying to each other? You’ve obviously got a lot of baggage between you, and I don’t need that kind of drama.” Not today, anyway, Blaine thinks to himself. I’ve got plenty in my own life living with Cooper, thank you very much.

“But you could be the deciding vote!” Rachel shrieks.

“How is that fair?” Kurt demands, glaring at Rachel. “We need to discuss this. A vote won’t solve anything, and I’m not going to spend weeks working on a show when you have already pre-cast your favorite students. You can’t just assume you know who is best for each part without even letting them try out.”

Blaine pauses at the door and turns back, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out again. “Good luck, guys. I’m still on board with whatever you choose. Just let me know.”

Blaine doesn’t miss the look of regret on Kurt’s face as he leaves the room. Well, that could have gone better, Blaine thinks, getting into his car and heading home. Guess there’s probably not going to be a date after all.

But that night, just as Blaine is trying to decide whether to watch another episode of his current binge favorite, his phone rings.

“Why haven’t we exchanged phone numbers?”

“Um, Kurt?”

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant to say. But I had to ask Rachel for your number, and she didn’t have it, and now she just has something else to bug me about-“

“So how did you get it?”

Kurt sighs. “Apparently all the teachers’ numbers are on the website. Total invasion of privacy, if you ask me. I had no idea. I’m taking it up with the principal tomorrow.”

Blaine waits, not really wanting to take the conversation any further until he knows why Kurt called him. To kick him off the musical team? To try to convince him to band together against Rachel?

“Blaine? Still there?”

“Yeah, still here.”

“I need to apologize for what happened today. Rachel and I have known each other for a really, really long time, and we haven’t always been friends. Sometimes when we argue a lot of old stuff gets brought up.”

“Um-hm.”

“We shouldn’t have tried to get you involved. That wasn’t fair to you.”

“No argument here.” Blaine isn’t sure why he’s being so snippy about this, but it probably has something to do with the way Kurt has been so lukewarm to him this week. It stings, apparently a little more than he has admitted to himself.

“Look, I know I’m not always the easiest person to get to know,” Kurt continues. “But I promise you, today was an aberration, even for me. Give me another chance?”

“You sure you want one?”

“Pretty much, or I wouldn’t have said it.” Now Kurt sounds like he’s getting angry. Blaine really doesn’t blame him, he’s not behaving particularly well either. If he doesn’t rein it in, this is never going to get any better.

Blaine lets out a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry too. But after our talk last week, I really thought there might be something between us. At least as friends, you know?”

“What? I mean, yeah, there is, why wouldn’t you think so?”

“Maybe because you haven’t given me the time of day this week. You won’t sit with me in the faculty lounge, you’re never around after class, and you dash through the hallways as though you’re afraid of getting caught without a hall pass after the bell rings. It frankly doesn’t seem like you’re all that interested in spending time with me.”

There’s silence on the other end of the line, and Blaine figures that’s it. It’s going to be a long rest of the year. At least his orchestra kids still like him. Maybe he’ll take Cooper up on his suggestion to meet some of his friends. They can’t all be like Cooper.

“I’m really sorry that I gave you that impression,” Kurt says finally. “People at school don’t like me very much. I got off on the wrong foot with some of the teachers last year, and I guess I never did much to fix it.”

“That’s too bad.”

“But please, tell me it’s not too late to fix it with you. Because I really would like to spend time with you.” Kurt’s voice sounds smaller than he’s ever heard it.

“I’d like that too. Maybe… outside of school?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“Are you free Saturday night?”

Kurt lets out a relieved laugh. “Absolutely, totally, completely free.”

“Well then, since you have my phone number now, why don’t you text me your address and I’ll pick you up at seven?”

“Okay.”

“Good night, Kurt.”

“Good night.”

Blaine hangs up the phone with a sigh and places it on his nightstand; it’s only a few seconds before it pings with a text with Kurt’s address and a request that Blaine give him an idea of what he has planned so he can dress appropriately. It makes Blaine smile.

*****

It’s their first date, and Blaine thinks things are going well. He had chosen a Mexican restaurant, nothing too fancy, but with a candlelit patio and out of this world food. Fantastic Mexican food is definitely one of the high points, so far, of Blaine’s Californian adventure. Although it can’t come close to number one on the list – meeting Kurt.

Kurt is dressed tonight in a white shirt, dove gray vest, and a silk scarf around his neck – an ascot? Neckerchief? Blaine’s not sure quite what to call it, but it’s got shades of blue and gray-green that do amazing things to Kurt’s eyes. Blaine smooths his hands on his pants as he returns from the men’s room, taking a moment to admire Kurt, who is sitting back in his chair, the light from the candles warming his pale skin. 

They’ve got the dessert menus in front of them, but Blaine has a better idea. At least, he hopes it will be better.

“The flan here is pretty good, but it’s not all that unusual,” he says, trying to feel out Kurt’s position.

“Ubiquitous flan, is it?” Kurt smirks. “They don’t even try to dress it up.”

“I know, right? Where’s the pomegranate sauce, or the pistachios?”

“I was at one place with Rachel where they served a chocolate cherry flan with a meringue crust.”

“Meringue? How does that go with flan?”

“Exactly.” Kurt puts the menu down and catches Blaine’s gaze, his eyes sparkling in the low light. “I wouldn’t be heartbroken if we skipped the flan.” He’s giving Blaine an opening, for sure.

“Want to come back to my place for dessert instead?” There, he said it. “Cooper’s out of town, so we’d have the place to ourselves.”

“My goodness, aren’t you forward,” Kurt says, but lightens it with a playful wink. “Actually, that sounds perfect.”

They wind up their dinner, and head out to Blaine’s car. Kurt seems at ease, so much more so than he is at school. He even holds himself differently, Blaine thinks, his shoulders more relaxed, his hips almost swinging as he walks through the parking lot.

They don’t talk much on the drive to Cooper’s house, but it’s comfortable, Kurt playing with the radio and both of them singing along softly to Sara Bareilles’ latest hit. When they get inside, Kurt hovers near Blaine in the kitchen, helping him set out some cookies and grinning as Blaine struggles with the cork on the white wine he selected. Their arms brush as they pass back and forth, and Blaine has to remind himself to breathe; proximity to Kurt is intoxicating.

Finally they are settled on the couch, and after a few minutes discussing Cooper’s latest project (another commercial, but he thinks it will turn into something more), Kurt crosses his legs and sighs.

“Kurt? Is something wrong?”

Kurt frowns. “Thank you for letting me off the hook about yesterday. I really am embarrassed you had to see that.”

Blaine takes a sip of his wine, trying to give himself a moment to catch up. Kurt is still obviously upset about the whole mess. He had thought this was water under the bridge. “Really, don’t worry about it.”

Kurt grimaces. “You obviously don’t know me that well.” He looks up, as if worried that he has just made it worse. “At least, not yet?”

Blaine laughs, he can’t help it, and luckily Kurt smiles back. “All right, then, help me get to know you better.” He touches Kurt’s hand. “Do you want to talk about what you and Rachel were fighting about?”

“I suppose I should.” Kurt lets out a long breath. “We were trying to decide between the two shows. And the way she was talking about them, it was clear she had already cast them in her mind, and it was totally unfair. She was being her usual Rachel self, assuming we’d just go along with whatever she wanted, even though you and I should have an equal say in casting. But worse that than, she was choosing her favorites all over again. She wasn’t even giving any other kids a chance.”

“She doesn’t have any formal teaching experience, does she?”

Kurt huffs out a laugh. “God, no. And sadly, she’s just repeating what she’s been taught.”

“What do you mean?”

Kurt sets his wine down on the table and turns towards Blaine, tucking one foot up underneath him on the couch. “I told you Rachel and I have known each other for a long time, right?”

Blaine nods.

“It goes back to high school in Ohio. We both auditioned for our school’s production of West Side Story. I desperately wanted to play Tony, but I didn’t get it, basically because the people in charge thought I was too effeminate. I actually heard Ms. Pillsbury say I was “delicate” and would hold Maria in my “toothpick arms.”

“That’s terrible,” Blaine says, as his eyes drop automatically to Kurt’s rather well-muscled biceps. And completely untrue, he thinks, before forcing his eyes upward again. “A teacher actually said that?” 

“Well, she was the guidance counselor.”

“Even worse!”

“I know. She didn’t say it to my face, to be fair. But it was still pretty awful. Rachel tried to help me get them to see me in a different light, but she couldn’t carry it off. She basically bought into it too.”

“And you don’t think Rachel’s changed since then?”

“Apparently not. I mean, we were talking about casting for _Little Shop,_ and she insisted Jake should play Seymour. Jake definitely looks the part, how you’d expect, slim and sort of nervous. But Tyler could do it – he’s a really good actor, he might be great at this. So could Luis, although Rachel has already decided he should be the dentist. Probably three or four other kids, if they were interested, could play Seymour. There could be kids in this school who we have never met that show up at auditions. We have to give them all a chance, and actually listen to them.”

“A high school show should be about giving kids a chance to learn,” Blaine said. “My high school wasn’t very good at that, either, if it’s any consolation.”

“Yeah? Did you do theater too?”

“Nope - a capella. In an all-boys private school in Connecticut.”

“Really? How did the teachers screw that up?”

Blaine leans his head back and groans. “After your story, I’m not sure I want to tell you.”

Kurt pokes him in the arm. “Come on, I just told you how my entire school thought I was too much of a delicate flower to play Tony. Spit it out.”

“I was the lead soloist. From my sophomore year to the end. I had to fight to have anyone else take a turn singing lead, or even duet with me.”

Kurt considers him, a smile growing on his face. “I bet you were pretty good.”

Blaine can feel himself blushing. “That’s what they told me.”

“I don’t suppose there is evidence of this on youtube?”

Blaine groans again. “Kurt… we wore our uniform blazers every time. Polyester, blue with red piping… You don’t want to see that.”

“I like a man in a blazer.”

Blaine finally gives in, bringing his laptop over to the couch and letting Kurt search for old Warblers videos. It is hard not to squirm as he watches his teenage self sing his heart out, but his discomfort is tempered by the way Kurt is sitting so close to him, leaning over him to type into the computer, and falling into him as he laughs.

“You have got to stop,” Blaine finally says, peeking out from between his fingers as Kurt finishes a video of the Warblers singing Pink’s _Raise Your Glass_.

Kurt grins at him. “Why, not proud of your ‘gangsta’ phase?”

“Come on, it’s not fair.”

“What if I show you some of mine?”

Blaine turns to Kurt, who has thankfully pressed pause on his sixteen year old rendition of _Misery._ “Some of your what?”

“My show choir videos.”

Before Blaine can question him further, Kurt pulls up a video of a group called The New Directions. It’s a compilation – made by Rachel, it turns out – and while it mostly features Rachel’s solos, Kurt scans through it until he gets to the part he’s looking for.

Kurt is on stage, surrounded by dancers, wearing a striking black and white tuxedo, with fringe coming down from his arm on the while half. His performance of _Le Jazz Hot_ has Blaine frozen in place, unable to do anything but gaze at the screen and listen to Kurt belt it out, dazzling all the way through. When he finishes the number with a slide up the scale that seems to go on forever, Blaine gasps.

“You’re incredible,” he says, turning to Kurt, who is sitting back on the couch, his arms crossed over his chest.

Kurt just shrugs, and Blaine turns back to the screen, watching in awe as the next song comes on. Kurt doesn’t seem to be featured very often in their group numbers, but the moments he is, he shines. There’s a Rocky Horror number that makes him smile – it takes him only moments to identify Kurt as Riff Raff. “Looks like you guys had a good time.”

“We did, when we weren’t biting each other’s heads off.”

Just when Blaine thinks the video is over, there’s a video of just Kurt and Rachel, sitting in what he figures is their choir room, singing a mashup of “Get Happy” and “Happy Days Are Here Again.” Rachel is wearing a sailor outfit, and Kurt is dressed in a shining silver suit. But as good as he looks (Kurt’s penchant for fashion clearly started young) it is his voice that captures Blaine’s heart. He stares at the screen, hoping Kurt can’t tell that he’s tearing up. 

When they finish, Kurt sets the laptop down on the coffee table, and turns to Blaine with a small smile. “Hope that wasn’t too painful to watch.”

“Not at all. Kurt… wow. You were something special, even in high school. And if you ask me, I think you would have made a great Tony,” Blaine says softly, reaching out to take Kurt’s hand. It feels good in his own, and he weaves their fingers together.

“Nah. Not back then at least.”

Blaine looked into Kurt’s eyes, searching. “Well, I would definitely like to have your arms around me.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Kurt leans forward and presses a soft kiss to Blaine’s lips, and Blaine feels a thrill run through him. He brings his hand up to Kurt’s cheek and kisses him back, light and easy. After a few moments they separate, and Kurt grins shyly at Blaine. “That was nice.”

“It was.”

“But I think we can do better,” Kurt says playfully.

“Oh?” Blaine runs a hand through his hair and tilts his head at Kurt. “Maybe we should practice.”

“I thought we were.”

*****  
Monday morning, Blaine decides to raise a new issue with Kurt, and types out a text.

Blaine: I had a great time with you on Saturday. But I was actually hoping to talk to you later about a student related issue. Are you free?

Kurt: I’ve got an early afternoon. I can grab us some decent coffee and meet you in the orchestra room after school?

Blaine: Perfect.

Blaine looks up with a smile as Kurt comes into the large practice room after his last class of the day. Kurt’s got two large Starbucks cups in his hands, and is clutching a bag in his fingers as well. Blaine hops up from his spot behind his desk and reaches for one of the coffees, which Kurt hands over gratefully.

“Thanks. I skipped lunch, so I made the very adult decision to get one of those pumpkin scone things they’re always advertising. I got a lemon one, too – you can have either one, or we can share them – whatever you want.”

“Thanks, Kurt. I never turn down snacks.” Blaine peers into the bag and breaks the corner off one of the scones.

“Well, then, you must have an excellent metabolism, because you don’t look like the snacking type.” Kurt gives Blaine a half-joking once over, and Blaine resists the urge to suck in his belly. 

“I run a lot,” he admits. “I had a little trouble with the freshman fifteen when I started college, and it’s haunted me ever since.”

Kurt nods understandingly. “I get that, believe me. I didn’t mean to hit a sore spot. You really are in great shape.”

Blaine ducks his head to take a sip of his coffee, and hopefully hide his blush. “Thanks.”

“Anyway, my bad. You wanted to talk about one of the students?”

Blaine waves at the wide risers and they both sit down on the floor, all of the folded chairs and music stands already having been stacked neatly along one side of the room. “You know Sarita Perez, right?”

“I do. She’s in chorus and Glee club, mostly hangs out with the juniors, but she’s a sophomore.”

“Well, I think she’s got a crush on another girl, and yesterday one of the kids said something that wasn’t very nice to her. Usually she seems to brush things off, but this time it kind of crossed the line. I shut it down, and talked to her a little bit afterwards, but I wanted to touch base with you.”

“Oh?”

“Well, there wasn’t much about bullying or anti-harassment in my teacher orientation, and the guidance counselor I met didn’t seem very effective. I figure you might know the best next step to help Sarita. You’ve been here a lot longer than me.”

Kurt smiles wryly at Blaine. “A lot longer? This is only my second year.”

“Really?”

“Do I seem that world weary?”

“Um… don’t be mad, but, yes?”

Kurt sighs. “Fine. And you’re right that Mountain High doesn’t have much in the way of organized student support. Sue says it’s because we’re a new school and have to focus on core student learning.”

“How can they feel safe enough to learn if they’re afraid?” Blaine asks. “Sue should know better.” He pauses, hoping Kurt will be receptive to his idea. “We should…”

Kurt sets his coffee on his leg, tapping the top with his fingers. “I know what you’re going to say.”

“You do?”

Kurt gives Blaine a flirty smile. “I do.”

Blaine shrugs, and glances down at Kurt’s hands. “You have beautiful fingers.”

The blush that spreads across Kurt’s cheeks is worth the momentary derailment of their conversation. “You flatterer. And that definitely wasn’t what you were thinking.”

“It was one of the things.” Blaine grins. “But you’re right. I was going to say that we should start some kind of LGBTQ support group.”

“And when you say ‘we,’ you mean me and you? Don’t you think that’s a little obvious?”

“What, that two gay teachers would be the faculty advisors? Kind of makes sense to me. And we could put the word out, see if anyone else wants to help. It would be great to get someone from one of the sports teams, balance out the arts aspect. I’m sure there are kids who aren’t in our classes that might feel more welcome if their coach supported them.”

Kurt frowned. “I don’t know.”

“Look, I know you are wary about the other teachers here. I don’t know why, but this isn’t really about them. It’s about the kids.” 

Blaine can see Kurt is thinking about this, fiddling with the lid on his coffee cup some more and then putting it down on the riser next to him.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay, yeah. Let me check with some of the other schools in the district first. I’m pretty sure there are one or two other gay-straight alliance groups out there already, and if I can get some information on them before we talk to Sue, we’ll be better off. We might even want to do a joint group – Mountain High isn’t that big, and if our kids could meet kids from other schools, it might be a really good thing for them.”

“Kurt, that’s a great idea!”

“And thanks for letting me know what is going on with Sarita. She’s had some mild teasing from her friends about a crush. It might be the same thing you’re talking about, although it really seemed like she didn’t have a problem with it. The kids were all teasing each other about something that day. But even little digs can pile up.”

Blaine nods. “True.”

“And we actually have two guidance counselors – I’m guessing the one you weren’t impressed with was Figgins? Dark hair, oddly out of touch?”

“Sounds like him.”

“Holly’s a lot better, Holly Holiday, if you can believe it.”

“Stage name?”

“I don’t even think so. She’s a little wacky, but the students seem to trust her. And she’s not afraid to talk about sexuality.” Kurt laughs. “She gave a safe sex course last year, and was appalled at the lack of knowledge some of these kids have. Apparently even the internet can’t help some of them.”

“Thanks, Kurt, I’ll talk to her, and Sarita. I’m so glad I came to you about this.”

A flicker of something passes over Kurt’s face – pride, maybe? and then he composes himself. “Always glad to help.”


	3. Chapter 3

Kurt is pacing across his small living room, phone in his hand. He’s almost called several times, almost texted several more times, but can’t quite bring himself to do it. He knows this is his best shot at getting a real GSA group going at Mountain High, especially as Sue has given Blaine the go-ahead for them to take the first step, but he’s not sure he’s ready for the whirlwind that is yet another of his old high school friends.

Finally Kurt presses her number, and sits down on the couch. He’s half hoping it will just go to voice mail, but his hopes are dashed when a familiar voice answers the phone.

“If you butt dialed me, Hummel, I expect a full apology. With alcohol.”

“I didn’t butt dial you, Santana.”

“No? Well, talk fast, then. Britt’s about to get in the shower, and you know how she is. She gets upset if the spiders can’t swim, and then our whole night goes to hell.”

“You have spiders in your shower?”

“Not everyone lives in fancy condos like you, pretty boy. Some of us have to work for our money.”

“Some of us chose to apply to a school district that could pay a living wage,” Kurt responds. And which had an actual arts program, and which offered him a job. He hadn’t exactly had his choice of gigs when he decided to try his hand at teaching, without even a degree in education. But he had been exhausted – and broke – after years fruitlessly pursuing theater roles, and when Mountain High gave him the opportunity, he decided to give it a try. 

“Rationalize it however you want,” Santana spits out. “Are we just going to argue about this again? Because, as mentioned, my very hot wife is about to cover herself in lavender vanilla suds and I really don’t want to miss it.”

Might as well spit it out, then. “I need your help setting up a Gay-Straight Alliance at Mountain High.”

“Nope.”

Kurt bristles. “No? What’s wrong with you, Santana? Are you so far up on your high horse that you don’t want to help out kids in need, just because they have a little more spending money than-”

“Relax, ladycakes. You don’t want a Gay-Straight Alliance. You want a Gender and Sexuality Alliance. Keep up with the kids, or you’ll get booted off Tumblr.”

Kurt resists the urge to ask “what’s Tumblr?” and goad her further, and just lets out a long sigh. “Fine. Gender and Sexuality Alliance, the name doesn’t make a difference.”

“Names are power, Hummel.”

“Fine,” Kurt says again, frustrated. “Will you help me or not?”

Kurt can hear a door squeaking, and then the sound of running water. “Meet me at Rainbow Cafe Friday night. You’re buying. We can discuss it,” Santana says, and then the line goes quiet.

*****  
Kurt knows that establishing a GSA (luckily it had the same initials as the Gay-Straight Alliance he knew and didn’t really love back in high school, so he wouldn’t be caught calling it the wrong thing) is an important step forward for Mountain High, and he is pleased that Blaine is so committed to it. But he really, really wishes he could get the guy to talk about something else.

Although since their date they have met up for lunch twice, and even another coffee in the choir room after school, it seems like all Blaine can talk about is their plan for a GSA. He has the green light from Sue – Kurt isn’t sure how, since Sue tended to crap all over all of his suggestions, but he guesses Blaine just has a magic touch – and has convinced one of the gym teachers who also coaches women’s volleyball and gymnastics to help out as well. They decided to wait until their plans were formalized before telling the students, but Blaine has a plan for that as well, having identified kids who he thought were likely to entice others to join, as well as kids who might need to be approached in a safe space in order to hear the information.

And each time, Kurt gladly joins in the conversation, both of them having done their research (there was a lot of information available at gsanetwork.org and other websites), and able to flesh out their plans. But he is beginning to feel like the project has slipped him back into the friend zone with Blaine, instead of the flirty zone that had so delighted Kurt on Friday night.

To make matters worse, Mr. Cortez, the former orchestra director, has reappeared. Apparently whatever Sue did to get him kicked out has backfired on her, and now he and Blaine are both supposed to be sharing the position. Kurt can tell that Blaine is trying to make the best of it, but Mr. Cortez is treating him more like an assistant than an equal, and it has got to be driving him crazy. Unfortunately conversations about how to divide up the various duties of leading three different instrumental groups does not really lend itself to flirting.

Despite his better judgment, Kurt finds himself whining to his father about it one night, after he and Blaine part ways in the school parking lot with nary a goodbye kiss. Or at least, not one worthy of the name.

“I don’t know, bud, it doesn’t sound all that bad to me,” Burt says. “You’re getting to know each other. That’s a good thing, right?”

Kurt sighs. “But what happened? Why did things change?”

“Did they change?”

“Yes, I just told you – at dinner, and at his house, Blaine was putting on the charm like there was no tomorrow. And we, you know-”

“TMI, Kurt. There’s a limit.”

“We kissed, dad, that’s all I was going to say. We kissed. But it wasn’t just a friendly ‘see you tomorrow’ kiss on the cheek, like he gave me today.”

Burt laughs. “Okay, I get the picture. So you’re saying now your dinners out are less romantic and more safe-for-work?”

“We haven’t had any more dinners out, dad. We’ve been at work.”

Burt doesn’t respond, and Kurt wants to slam his head against the coffee table as it dawns on him. He groans, and he hears his father chuckle.

“Something occur to you, kid?”

“I may have told him that I’m not comfortable with a lot of the teachers at school. And implied… rather strongly… that I didn’t want to be too personal at work.” Kurt sighs. “I’m such an idiot. Blaine’s being respectful, doing exactly what I asked him to do, and I’m sitting here criticizing him.”

“Sounds like he’s quite the gentleman.”

“And I’m being a whiny bitch.”

“Kurt!” Burt says, trying to camouflage his laugh with a cough. “Enough already. You’ve figured out the problem, stop beating yourself up about it. Go fix things with Blaine.”

“Just like that, huh?” Kurt can count on one hand the times he has successfully asked a guy out. He doesn’t really include his first date with Blaine – that had just happened, their banter leading right into it. He knows he is taking a glass half empty approach to the whole thing, but experience has taught him it’s better not to get his hopes up.

“You’ll never know unless you try, bud. And it sounds like you already know – you’re just nervous about trying.”

“I’m such a mess, Dad. Why would he even bother with me?”

“Sounds like he’s already bothered by you plenty,” Burt says, chuckling again.

“For god’s sake, Dad, stop with the innuendo.”

“What, am I too old for it? What d’ya think Carole and I do to entertain ourselves, play cards?”

“I know for a fact you play cards. Every Thursday night.”

“That’s what we always told you. But did you ever see any cards on the table when you came home?”

Kurt face palms, glad he isn’t on Skype so his dad can’t see his face going red. “You two did not have a regular hookup scheduled when I was in high school.”

“Well, if we did, I’m sure as hell not gonna tell you about it.”

“You brought it up!” Kurt exclaims. “No one is ever going to believe we have conversations like this, you know that, Dad.”

“I’m pretty sure I don’t care what other people believe, Kurt, and you shouldn’t either.”

The conversation suddenly takes a serious turn, and Kurt focuses on his father’s words. “You think I’m too worried about what the other teachers will think, if they find out Blaine and I are dating.”

“You said it, bud, I didn’t.”

“They’ve already given me no end of shit, Dad, you know that. Why should I give them any more ammunition?”

“Why would dating Blaine make them dislike you?” Burt asks matter of factly.

“Why would anything about me make them dislike me? They don’t need a reason, they do it anyway. It’s the same old story – no one likes people who are different.”

“Maybe if you let them get to know you, and you got to know them, you’d find out you aren’t all that different from each other.”

“You’re making me feel like I’m in high school again,” Kurt says. He knows he is pouting, but at least his dad can’t see it.

“Maybe it’s because you’re talking like you’re in high school again. What happened to the Kurt Hummel who was going to take New York City by storm, and be himself in all his unique glory?”

“He got tired, dad. He just got tired.”

*****  
“And let’s have a big hand for the Mountain High Glee Club and Jazz Band,” the announcer says. “Next up, our local Girl Scout Troop will demonstrate some of the dances they have been working on for their Dance Badge!”

Kurt grins as his kids leave the makeshift stage, happy and full of excitement. The location for their first gig isn’t as elegant as he might have hoped, but this fall festival at a nearby pumpkin farm has given his students a chance to perform, even if the stage is just a space portioned off with hay bales, and half the audience is more interested in getting pumpkin-related snacks than listening to live music.

“Mr. Hummel, can we go now?” The kids have plans of their own now that the performance is over, something about a contest between the Glee club and the band kids to see who can get through the corn maze first. They had invited him to come along, but Kurt has better things to do with his afternoon then spend it lost in a dusty field. Kurt talks to his students for a few minutes, making sure that everyone is signed out and no longer his responsibility, and then scans the crowd for Blaine. 

After a few minutes, he finally spots him, holding a large pumpkin in his hands. There’s a tall man talking to him, mostly blocking Kurt’s view of Blaine. He’s gesturing wildly with his hands, pointing in different directions, and Kurt wonders what is going on.

He moves closer, until he can more clearly see the dejected look on Blaine’s face and the slump of his shoulders, and then the man’s voice hits his ears. 

“I don’t understand why you insist on wasting your time with this, Blaine. And I’m not waiting for you any longer. I’ve got an important audition to prepare for.”

The man grabs the pumpkin out of Blaine’s hands, turns on his heel with a flourish, and walks away.

Kurt pauses, not sure if he should approach, but he can’t just leave Blaine standing there looking like a kid who just dropped his ice cream cone.

He closes the space between them, Blaine hardly even looking up when he touches his arm.

“Hey. You okay?”

Blaine shrugs. “My brother is an ass.”

Well, that answers that question.

“Want to talk about it?”

Another shrug.

“Want to get kettle corn and cider?”

Blaine looks up at this, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Sure.”

When they’ve made their purchases and are settled at a picnic table, Blaine lets out a long sigh. 

“I asked him to come watch the kids perform. You know, so he could see what I’ve been doing.”

Kurt nods. “That makes sense.”

“I thought he’d be proud of me, you know? Getting everyone to work together in just a few months, pulling off some pretty hard pieces for a group at this level. It’s not Julliard or anything, but the kids put a lot of work into this.”

“They really were good.”

“They were,” Blaine says insistently. “They were really good. And they deserved some appreciation.”

“And so do you,” Kurt says softly.

“Yeah. Not gonna happen.”

Kurt reaches out his hand and covers Blaine’s where it is resting on the table. “Not from him, maybe. But I’m proud of you.”

Blaine’s face colors and he ducks his head down, resting his forehead on the table. Then he turns his hand, taking Kurt’s in his, and looks back up. “Thank you. But Cooper is just so frustrating. He’s not helping at all with settling the estate, he’s never around, and he still treats me like a little kid. I thought coming out here to live with him would the perfect chance for us to bond, but instead I think it’s just making things worse.”

Blaine’s glum expression contrasts markedly with his bright canary yellow shirt and plaid jacket. Kurt wishes he could do something to help. “You know, I don’t want to overstep, but…”

“But what?”

Kurt sits up straighter, and looks Blaine in the eye. “My dad told me once that if I was unhappy about something in my life, and I had the power to change it, I had an obligation to myself to try to fix the situation.”

Blaine gazes at Kurt, and then his eyes fall to his lap. “That’s good advice, I guess. I just don’t know what to do to fix it.”

Just then Rachel appears next to Kurt, plopping herself down on the bench and setting a paper bag on the table. Kurt lets go of Blaine’s hand regretfully, but Rachel is clearly demanding their full attention.

“I got us some cider donuts, the freshest ones they had. I waited for the new batch, you know, because it makes a difference.” She opens up the bag. “I bought a dozen, and I already ate two, but you can each have one if you want, they taste almost as good as they smell! I tried to get the salesperson to give us a dozen for free, since we have been providing them with high quality entertainment, but he insisted on me paying for them, although I think we can probably get the school to reimburse us…”

“Thanks, Rachel. They are delicious,” Blaine says politely, taking a bite from a donut.

Kurt is desperately trying to figure out how to signal Rachel to leave them alone, so he can finish his conversation with Blaine, when a crowd of kids descends upon them. They offer up the remaining donuts, and listen to the animated debate about whether Julia and Anita should be allowed to go through the corn maze again to try to better their time, or whether they are stuck with their original one even though they stopped to help another team.

“You just thought that kid was cute,” Jake says, popping a last bite of donut in his mouth. “Besides, the jazz club beat the Glee club fair and square. So now Mr. Anderson has to come with us!”

“What’s this?” Kurt says, directing his question to Blaine. But Blaine is grinning and standing up, letting the kids drag him away.

“I may have promised them that if they won, I’d challenge them to a rematch,” Blaine explains, looking happier than he has for the whole afternoon. “Want to come?”

“No, Mr. Hummel can’t help you, he’s on the other team,” a tall boy protests. Kurt thinks he’s the string bass player – fitting, really, given his height.

“That’s okay, I’m not a big fan of corn mazes,” Kurt says, although by this point Blaine and the kids are really too far away to hear him. Kurt sighs, and finds Rachel looking at him quizzically.

“Why so sad?”

“It’s nothing.”

Rachel plops down on the bench and brings her face close to Kurt’s, frowning. “I know you. It’s not nothing. Spill.”

Kurt shrugs. “I’d just really like to spend some time with Blaine, that’s all.”

Rachel smirks. “Sexy time, hmm?”

“Get your head out of the gutter, please. I’d settle for any time, really. As long as there aren’t any teenagers present.”

“But you’d like sexy time….” Rachel drawls.

“Well, yeah. But we’ve only gone on one real date. I’d be perfectly happy with dinner at my place. Maybe some wine, some cheesecake for dessert. A chance to talk without any interruptions.” Kurt tries to glare at Rachel, but she’s just staring back at him, a soft look on her face.

“You really like him, don’t you?”

“Yeah. I guess I do.”

“Does he know?”

Kurt draws in a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. “I don’t know.”

“Well, then, I think you know what you have to do.”

Easier said than done, Kurt thinks. And he thinks it again, later that afternoon, when his tentative plan to invite Blaine back to his place is foiled by – once again – teenagers. This time, it’s because half of them need a ride home, and despite the fact that he could swear enough of them have their own driver’s licenses to take care of themselves, they all seem to want a ride with Blaine.

“See you at school?” Blaine asks, as he heads off towards the parking lot. 

“Definitely.”

*****

While Kurt appreciates that he can’t really ask Blaine on a date while surrounded by their students, he decides that he’s not about to leave anything else to chance. He texts Blaine that night after the festival, and they make plans to go out for coffee after school the next day. He’s planning on taking him to a different coffee place, not their usual one down the block from the high school, and they are going to have a chance to actually talk, undisturbed. 

It’s a good plan, but it doesn’t work. 

“Kurt, I’m so sorry,” Blaine breathes out as he dashes into the choir room at the end of the day.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing – it’s just that Cooper wants me to help him run lines, and so I’ve got to go straight home. I can’t do coffee. I’m really sorry.” 

Kurt bites back his instinctual response – do you always jump when Cooper tells you to jump? – and nods. “That’s fine, don’t worry about it. We’ll do it another day.”

Blaine gives Kurt a sad smile and then heads off down the hall. Kurt sighs and decides to spend the afternoon organizing the sheet music cabinet. Might as well be productive, if he can’t be having fun.

The rest of the week passes quickly. They still haven’t been able to get the rights to the musical, so they make a final decision on timing, putting it off until the spring. It’s not as if Kurt doesn’t have enough to do, however, as the first meeting of their GSA brought in more students than they had dreamed would show up, and they are in the process of organizing the next one, which will be a joint meeting with the established GSA at Santana’s school. 

As Kurt is packing up from their brainstorming session on Thursday afternoon, he sees Blaine standing by the door, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. 

“Hey there,” Kurt says, watching as Blaine’s eyes dart back and forth. “That was a good meeting, don’t you think? As soon as Santana sends over some possible dates, we’ll be good to go.”

Blaine nods, but he’s kind of looking over Kurt’s shoulder, which is odd.

“Blaine? You okay?”

Blaine huffs out a laugh. “Sorry. It’s just… I wanted to ask you out for dinner, but Mr. Cortez keeps ambushing me and giving me more work to do, so I’m sort of trying to avoid him.”

Kurt files away what Blaine has said about his unproductive collaboration with his co-director and focuses on the much more interesting part of what he has just heard. “Wait, you wanted to ask me out to dinner?”

“Yes?” Blaine turns to Kurt, his eyes wide. “If that’s okay? There’s just… there’s some things I’d like to talk to you about.”

Kurt restrains himself from jumping up and down, and takes Blaine’s arm as they walk down the deserted hall. “It’s definitely okay. And don’t worry, if we see Mr. Cortez coming, you have my full permission to hide behind me.”

They decide to meet in a couple of hours at a new Italian place not far from Kurt’s house. It’s got a cozy, bistro feel, a far cry from Breadstix back home in Ohio. Kurt gets there first, and is waiting patiently by the hostess stand when he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“Hi, Kurt,” Blaine says, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Blaine’s wearing a slim fitting royal blue shirt and dark jeans that fit him just right, and Kurt kind of wants to skip dinner, take him home, and pull his silver bowtie right off his neck.

Blaine blushes when he sees Kurt look him over, and smiles back. “You look great.”

“Thank you, kind sir.” Kurt is rather pleased with his outfit – a dove gray shirt with a patterned vest, and a contrasting pattern on his pants. Not something he’d wear to school, necessarily, but perfect for a night out. Even if they are just having dinner at a strip mall in suburban California and not going dancing at a club in Greenwich Village.

Kurt says something to this effect to Blaine, whose eyes light up, and they proceed to talk about their favorite haunts in New York City. It turns out Blaine’s favorite club, Applause, is one that Kurt has been to as well – first on Rachel’s opening night in Funny Girl, and several memorable times thereafter. The conversation carries them through their appetizer (a fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil plate) and well into their entrees (fettucini alfredo for Blaine, and game hen with fig, almond and squash for Kurt).

Blaine looks a little guilty as he finishes off his pasta dish, and he frowns as he looks down at his plate.

“Guess you hated it, huh?” Kurt says lightly.

“Ugh, no, obviously it was delicious. I’ll be regretting it tomorrow.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Cooper adds extra miles to our runs if I eat too many carbs.”

Kurt apparently takes too long to give a passable answer to this disturbing comment, and the pleasant mood of the evening shifts into something more serious.

“That came out sounding pretty bad, didn’t it?” Blaine asks, suddenly very interested in lining up his knife and fork evenly with the edge of the placemat.

“It kind of did.”

“Working out together was supposed to be one of the things we could do to bond, you know? But Cooper is a little too invested in my progress. Not that keeping tabs on each other is bad, but… it was never this way when Sam and I worked out together. Sure, he complimented me on my ass when our squat routine showed some results, but he never policed what I ate.”

“Sam’s your roommate, right?” Kurt has been trying to figure out exactly what the relationship is between Blaine and Sam for weeks, but he could never find a way to do it. Maybe now is the time.

“Yeah. He’s a model-”

Kurt must have made a disapproving noise, because Blaine tilts his head back and relaxes, shaking his head.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a model, Kurt. Sam’s very good looking, and he works hard at keeping in shape, so he uses it to his advantage. And he spends his free time running the music education program for foster kids that he helped put together, so no dissing my friend.”

“Far be it from me to criticize anyone engaging in an artistic endeavor,” Kurt says, glad that at least the smile has returned to Blaine’s face. “It just strikes me as very unfair that your bestie back home is so good looking that people pay to take his picture.” 

Blaine grins. “Larger than life pictures of his junk – clad in the finest briefs – are plastered all over the city.”

Kurt hangs his head. “Like I said, unfair.” 

“Yeah, the girls he dates think so, too. They can get a little jealous about Sam baring more than his soul to the masses.”

Kurt raises his head, and looks at Blaine, who is gazing back at him with a playful expression. “The girls he dates?”

“Um-hm. The girls.” Blaine pauses, takes a sip of his water, and then glances back at Kurt. “Wait, you didn’t assume Sam was gay, did you?”

Kurt laughs. “Fine, tease me. But he’s your roommate and best friend, he’s a male model, he likes to sing, he’s paying way too much attention to your ass… Maybe I can be forgiven if I jumped to conclusions?”

“Of course you’re forgiven.” Blaine smiles, and Kurt’s heart soars. He’s not sure this evening could be going any better.

At that moment, Blaine’s phone pings, and Kurt wants to bang his face into the table. Obviously he jinxed it.

Blaine looks quickly at his phone and then pockets it again. 

“Do you need to get that? Cooper want to know if you’re ordering dessert?”

Blaine rolls his eyes. “I suppose I deserved that. No, I’ll return the call later. It’s Maritza, one of my colleagues from Julliard. She tried to call me earlier, but when I called her back after school, she didn’t pick up. I’ll catch up with her eventually.”

The waiter comes by with dessert menus, and they spend some time talking through their choices.

“I used to be the biggest cheesecake fan,” Kurt confesses. “Sometimes I’d order a whole cheesecake from the Italian place in Lima. Especially if I was having a bad day.”

“Well, maybe we should give that a try.”

Kurt sees Blaine’s face freeze, as he realizes that perhaps that wasn’t the right thing to say on a date.

“Not that I’m having a bad day, not now, anyway,” Blaine babbles hurriedly. “This is great, being here with you. Really.”

“It’s okay, Blaine,” Kurt says, reaching to take Blaine’s hand. “I know you’ve been having a tough time.”

Blaine sighs. “It doesn’t help that Mr. Cortez showed up, either.”

Kurt gives Blaine’s hand a squeeze and lets go. “Why do we all call him ‘Mr. Cortez’ instead of using his first name?”

Blaine grins. “I don’t know – but that’s how he introduced himself to me. He didn’t even tell me his first name.”

“I’m guessing he calls you ‘Blaine,’ though, right?”

“Right.”

The waitress returns, and they place their orders - two scoops of gelato (one blackberry, and one hazelnut), and a slice of chocolate cake that promises to be the most decadent thing Kurt has eaten in ages.

Just as their selections arrive, Blaine frowns, and he takes his phone out of his pocket. “I’m sorry, it’s Maritza again. I had better take this.” He answers the phone and gets up from the table, walking away as he starts talking.

Kurt fidgets for a few minutes, eyeing their melting gelato, but not wanting to continue eating until Blaine returns. When he does, they dig in, and it doesn’t take long before Blaine has that guilty look on his face again.

“How many miles does chocolate cake get you?”

Blaine cringes. “I don’t know. And frankly, I have no intention of finding out. Cooper can take his diet plan and shove it.”

“Atta boy.” Kurt scoops up another forkful of chocolate cake, gets a little bit of the hazelnut gelato on top, and holds it out to Blaine, who smiles and takes it eagerly. “I know he’s your brother, but you can’t let him do this to you,” he says, hoping his words won’t be taken the wrong way.

But Blaine just nods in agreement. “Kurt, I think you are absolutely right.”

They manage to sit and talk over coffee – and several more cups of coffee – until they notice that the restaurant is closing.

“Just another reminder that we’re not in New York,” Blaine says, as they head outside. “Um, if it’s not too late, do you want to…?”

Kurt glances mournfully at his watch, and groans. “I’m really sorry, but I’ve got a pile of voice tapes to review before tomorrow. You know how Julia and Anita get if I make them wait very long before giving them feedback.”

“How do you expect me to grow as a performer, Mr. Hummel, if you don’t tell me how to improve,” Blaine says in a high voice, which Kurt assumes is supposed to mimic one of the girls.

“Exactly.” They have arrived at Kurt’s car, the battered Navigator his dad gave him so many years ago.

“Well, then, have fun with the tapes,” Blaine says, leaning in to give Kurt another (another!) peck on the cheek. But Kurt stops him with his hands on Blaine’s shoulders, and waits until he can catch his gaze.

“Blaine?”

“Yes?”

“I had a really good time tonight. Thank you for asking me to dinner.” And then Kurt leans in and kisses Blaine, slowly and with intent, not pulling back until they have both run out of breath.

A smile spreads across Blaine’s face, and Kurt has the feeling an equally goofy one is plastered across his own, as well. “You are quite welcome.” Blaine leans in for another kiss, and as their lips press together, Kurt thinks his legs are about to turn to jelly.

“You sure you have to go home?” Blaine whispers, his breath warm on Kurt’s cheek.

“I do.” Kurt steps back, sliding his hand down to grab Blaine’s and squeeze it tight. “Unfortunately. I really do.”

Blaine looks as if he is about to protest and kiss him again, but then a group of the restaurant’s staff come out the door, and Blaine just grins. “Okay. Your loss. See you tomorrow.” He gives a silly wave and spins on his heel, heading off towards his car.

“You are going to be the death of me,” Kurt mutters, fishing his car keys out of his tight pants pocket. “My loss, indeed.”


	4. Chapter 4

At school the next day everyone’s schedule is thrown off by a surprise Friday morning assembly, and Kurt doesn’t see Blaine in the hallways at all. He shoots him a text, asking if he is free for lunch, but Blaine has to meet with Sue and Mr. Cortez and can’t make it.

That night, back home, he’s just about to call Blaine when he gets a text.

**Blaine: Free this weekend? I’m open anytime except Sunday night, and I’d really like to see you.**

This, Kurt thinks, this is why he has been single for so long. Because he has the very worst luck.

**Kurt: Actually, I’m busy all weekend _except_ for Sunday night.**

**Blaine: Oh? Fun plans?**

Yes, Kurt thinks. The best. Or, more accurately, almost the best. The best would be a nice, long date with Blaine, complete with another makeout session on the couch. His couch, Blaine’s couch, any couch would do, really.

**Kurt: My friend Mercedes is in town, and I’m meeting her in L.A. for the weekend. Staying in a fancy hotel for free, eating out on her record label’s dime, blah blah blah. Should be an okay time.**

**Blaine: Wow, okay, I can see why you’d choose her over me. Can I choose her too?**

**Kurt: Very funny. Honestly, I made these plans ages ago, and I really am looking forward to seeing her. She’s hardly ever around, and we used to be really close back in high school. If it were anyone else, I’d change my plans and take you up on your offer.**

**Blaine: So you’re saying you’d blow Rachel off for me.**

**Kurt: In a heartbeat, my friend. Less than a heartbeat.**

**Blaine: Well then, I forgive you.**

**Kurt: I’ll tell you all about how the other half lives when I see you next week. Coffee after school on Monday?**

**Blaine: It’s a date.**

*****  
“Kurt? Kurt?” Mercedes’ voice draws Kurt out of his reverie, and he looks up at her apologetically. She has finished her lunch and is tapping a long fingernail against the table. “Earth to Kurt. That boy has really got you hooked, hasn’t he?”

Kurt blinks, and realizes he hasn’t eaten any of his salad, or whatever this upscale restaurant calls the strange array of individual vegetables and single lettuce leaves on his plate. And apparently he hadn’t been paying attention to what Mercedes was saying, either.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been distracted.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” Mercedes stands up from the table, and holds a hand out to Kurt. “How about we go shopping? If you can’t even focus on that, I’m calling the police.”

“You know I never say no to shopping,” Kurt says, smiling at his friend. But when he lingers over a collection of bowties at Ralph Lauren, Mercedes plants herself in front of him with her hands on her hips. 

“Just buy one for him, for goodness’ sake. Then we’re going to go back to my hotel, order room service, and you are going to tell me all about this boy.”

“Mercedes, I…” Kurt does kind of like the idea of buying Blaine a bowtie, come to think of it. Although he’s not sure how that will help cure his inability to think about anything except Blaine.

“I insist. You’ve got to get it out of your system before we go out tonight. Because the dress I’m going to be wearing to the opening will require everyone’s full attention.”

“I really am sorry,” Kurt says, catching Mercedes’ gaze. “It’s just been so long since I’ve felt this way about anyone. And Mercedes,” Kurt bit his lip, almost afraid to say it out loud, “I think he likes me too.”

Mercedes’ gaze softens. “Of course he likes you, boo. He’d be crazy not to.”

*****  
After singing Blaine’s praises to Mercedes all weekend long, Kurt is practically bursting out of his skin when he arrives at school on Monday morning. He just has to make it through the day, and then he can see Blaine when they go for coffee. 

As it happens, he doesn’t even make it through third period. “Mr. Hummel, do you know how long Mr. Anderson is going to be out?” Julia asks, Anita standing next to her, eyes wide. “He is coming back, right?”

Kurt feels his stomach sink. “What are you talking about?”

“Mr. Cortez said he’d be taking over jazz band completely. And second period orchestra. And when we went to look at the website to sign up for our individual lessons for the week, the page we use was gone.” 

Anita is nodding along with Julia, a look of near panic on her face. “I don’t want to take lessons with Mr. Cortez. He creeps me out. But senior districts are coming up and I really need the practice. Do you think Mr. Anderson could give me lessons, even if he’s not at the school anymore?”

Kurt mumbles something to the girls about looking into it, and asks Ezra to lead the group in vocal warmups. He steps out into the hall and calls Blaine, but it goes to voice mail. Hands shaking, he sends a text, “Blaine? Are you okay?” and then ducks into an empty classroom, sinking to the floor and trying to calm himself down. Blaine is probably just sick, or having some kind of turf war with Mr. Cortez. He’ll see him after school, and everything will get cleared up. There’s nothing to worry about.

But because Kurt is Kurt, and this is his life, he soon discovers that there _is_ something to worry about. He gets a text from Blaine right before last period, saying only “I’m so sorry but I have to cancel on you again today. Will fill you in later.” And despite Kurt’s attempts to get him to say more, it’s radio silence after that.

The school is full of rumors the next day, but Kurt does his best not to listen to them. He figures Blaine’s bizarre ability to get along with Sue must have come to an end, but he knows most of the staff’s disputes with Sue have a way of working themselves out. 

“Do you think Sue kicked him out?” Rachel asks, handing Kurt a celery stick and sliding the container of hummus towards him. They are hiding out in the costume room, not wanting to run into any other gossiping teachers while they eat their lunch.

“I can’t imagine Blaine doing anything that would get him fired for cause,” Kurt replies. “And it isn’t his fault Cortez came back.

“So where is he? And why won’t he reply to my texts?”

Kurt doesn’t point out that Blaine not replying to Rachel’s texts isn’t exactly the crisis she thinks it is, but Blaine hasn’t replied to his texts, either. And that stings. “I don’t know, Rachel.”

Late that night, Kurt is four episodes into binge-watching season one of Smash (the good one, before Karen Cartwright became utterly intolerable), when he sees an email pop up from Blaine. His heart immediately starts to pound, and he clicks on the message.

**Dear Kurt,**

**I’m writing this from the couch in my NYC apartment – the couch, because it’s going to take my cousin Matt at least three or four weeks to find a new place and give me my room back. Sam offered to let me share his bed in the meantime, but to be honest, he kicks in his sleep. Really hard.**

**I don’t know how to say this, so I’m going to come right out with it: I have moved back to New York. When you told me that if I was unhappy with my life, I had an obligation to myself to do something about it, you were right. Living with Cooper was almost unbearable. He apparently didn’t have any intention of using our time together to bond – he just wanted a personal assistant, someone to cook and clean and run lines with him. At least at first the work at Mountain High kept me going, but then Cortez came back, and every day he took away one more thing that I loved – I wasn’t even going to be able to keep directing the jazz band. Sue didn’t seem to care that my job was being reduced to nothing. By the end of last week all I was doing was sitting in the back “observing.”**

**My only regret about this decision is that you and I will never get to see what could have happened between us. It’s horribly ironic that the person who gave me the most valuable advice during my time at Mountain High is the one reason I didn’t want to take it. But it wouldn’t have been fair to either of us to pin my entire happiness on a still-new relationship with you, if that’s even what we had.**

**I am well aware that running off without talking to you about this is not my best work, and I am truly sorry. I had hoped to bring it up this weekend, but you were away with your friend, and I had to make a decision (those calls from Maritza on Thursday were her attempt to give me a heads’ up that my department head at Julliard wanted to talk; when we finally connected on Friday, he offered me my job back, if I could start immediately).**

**I will always regret not being able to get to know you better, Kurt. I feel like I’m in high school again, Adele on repeat in my head (“we could have had it aaallllllll….”). I’m really going to miss you. I want to say we should keep in touch, but I’d understand if after this stunt of mine, you would rather not.**

**In any case, a piece of my heart will forever belong to you.**

**Blaine**

Kurt stares at the page, then scrolls to the top and reads it again. He thinks he should be angry; certainly there is a dull ache in his chest that isn’t going to go away anytime soon. But to his surprise, right alongside the pain, is another feeling.

Before he can overthink it, he clicks on reply and quickly types out a response:

**Blaine –**

**I’m proud of you. I’ll miss you too, but I’m glad you are back where you belong. Good luck.**

**Kurt**

He closes his laptop, strips off his clothes, and burrows under his covers. Slowly the ache in his chest grows, and Kurt lets himself cry. Blaine thinks they could have had it all. Blaine likes him, he really does. A talented, caring, gorgeous man likes him, and yet once again, Kurt is alone.


	5. Chapter 5

_One year later…_

Kurt sways his hips and waves his arms in time to the bass rhythm pounding through the club, letting Bobby’s hands on his shoulders guide him. Jenny and Jessica appear next to them on the crowded dance floor, and Kurt spins to dance with Jenny, Bobby and Jessica doing some kind of complicated choreo they learned in their last show.

Kurt’s part in the long-running Broadway success _Heaven on Earth_ is small, but the other members of the cast have welcomed him with open arms, and Kurt has been having the time of his life. He’s bonded with these three dancers in particular, and finally, after weeks of being asked, Kurt agreed to go out dancing with them. And much to his surprise, he is not regretting it.

It’s likely that the many glasses of something pink and fruity have a little to do with his mood, but Kurt knows that isn’t the real reason – they didn’t have that much alcohol in them, and he knows he’s not drunk on adult beverages. He’s drunk on happiness. He’s living his dream now, he thinks as Jenny spins him, actually performing on Broadway, eight shows a week. And while his personal life is still a little lacking in the romance department, he’s making new friends, and trying to be more open about life in general. 

Bobby hands him another drink, and he gulps it down quickly, not wanting to spill it on his outfit. Weeks of dance rehearsals have him in the best shape he’s been in for years. He loves the new brightly patterned shirt he’s got on – and he knows his leather pants hug his ass just right. They’re back out on the dance floor in minutes, joining the girls. Jessica seems entranced by a tall guy in a net shirt, and Kurt can see why he’s wearing the net shirt, given what he’s got under it. 

He loses himself in the music, swaying to the beat and enjoying the attention of his castmates and various random strangers who have joined their group for the moment. It’s a tight mass of sweaty people, but Kurt finds that for once in his life he doesn’t mind.

Jenny grabs him by the wrist as she and Bobby make their way over to a couch –it’s already occupied, but they don’t seem to care, pushing him down and adding themselves to the pile. There’s a man with a eyebrow piercing leaning over Kurt and sliding his hand down his chest, while Jessica and net shirt guy shake their tails in his general direction. 

Kurt can’t quite believe this is something he’s doing, laying on the laps of total strangers, when there’s a familiar whisper in his ear.

“Holy shit, I didn’t even have that much to drink.”

Kurt whips his head around and sees that the lap his ass is currently laying on belongs to none other than Blaine Anderson.

“Blaine?” he breathes out stupidly.

“Kurt…” Blaine looks stunned, his eyes wide. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

Kurt stretches out his hand and pushes a sweaty curl off Blaine’s forehead. He sees Blaine’s eyes dip towards his lips and back again, and a wave of want rushes through him.

“Wanna get out of here?” Kurt asks.

Blaine’s eyes open even wider, and his mouth drops open, before he’s nodding in agreement. “I do.”

It takes them a minute to dislodge themselves from the pile of people on the couch, but then they are heading for the door. Blaine stops to wave at a hunky looking blond guy who Kurt guesses is probably Sam, and Kurt grabs Jessica on his way out and whispers an explanation that she obviously finds insufficient, judging by the look on her face.

Then they are outside the club, standing on the sidewalk, staring at each other. Kurt’s ears are ringing, and he can’t quite take in the sight of Blaine Anderson in a black v-neck t-shirt and tight jeans, a stripe of glitter on his cheekbone. 

“Nice face paint.”

Blaine looks blank, and then touches his face with embarrassment. “Bachelor party,” he explains. “Sam’s the best man. The glitter was his idea.”

“I approve.”

“Kurt, I-”

“Blaine-”

They start speaking at the same time, then stop, and Blaine’s soft laugh is the best thing Kurt’s heard all night.

Kurt takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly, stepping closer to Blaine. “My place isn’t far. Want to come over for some coffee?”

“You want me to?” Blaine looks nervous, all of a sudden, and Kurt searches his dazed brain for any hesitance on his own part. Finding none, he holds out his hand, and Blaine takes it.

“I do.”

Kurt’s apartment is tiny, and while he wouldn’t mind being up close and personal with Blaine sometime soon, there really isn’t room for both of them in the kitchen. But they manage, and are soon sitting on the narrow window seat, mugs in hand.

“It’s good to see you,” Kurt starts. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you, when I got to New York.”

Blaine shakes his head. “I never expected you to.” He looks around the little room, smiling when his eyes land on a picture taken the day of the fall festival where the Mountain High students performed. Kurt is sandwiched between Rachel and Blaine, the glee club and jazz band kids crowded around them. “I’m so sorry about-“

“You already apologized. And I understand.”

“You do?”

Kurt nods. “You were right. It wouldn’t have been fair to pin all your happiness on… whatever we were.”

Blaine looks down at his mug, then back up at Kurt. “It was the right decision for me to move back. Work has been going great, I’m getting new responsibilities all the time. And I’m composing again.” He pauses, then smiles at Kurt. “And I know you’ve been rocking it – congrats on your role.”

“You knew?”

Blaine grins. “If you wanted to keep it a secret, you probably shouldn’t have posted ‘Everything’s Coming Up Kurt’ with a _Heaven on Earth_ playbill on Facebook.”

“Can I blame it on Rachel?”

Blaine laughs. “Sure. But honestly, congratulations. I know that’s what you really wanted.”

Kurt stands and takes Blaine’s empty mug and his own and sets them in the sink. “It is. And I’m loving it.”

Their coffee finished, the obligatory explanations given, Kurt can feel the importance of the moment. He can either give Blaine a friendly hug and send him on his way, proposing that they have lunch sometime, or… 

Blaine runs a hand through his hair, and Kurt squints at something on his finger, his chest freezing. “Blaine?”

“Yes?”

“That – tonight wasn’t your bachelor party, was it?” Kurt is pointing at the thing on Blaine’s finger, which is very clearly ring-shaped.

Blaine laughs and tugs the item off his hand. “No, this is just shiny plastic.” He hands it to Kurt, who lets out a long sigh of relief. “They were party favors. It had a big pink plastic jewel on it earlier, but I guess that part fell off.”

“Well, that’s good.” Kurt sits back down on the seat next to Blaine, who is grinning like a fool.

“You cared about my ring,” Blaine says giddily.

“No, I just-”

“You did,” Blaine insists. “You don’t want me to get married to someone else.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself there, mister.”

Blaine’s smile remains firm, although he pauses and sweeps his eyes around Kurt’s apartment again, as if looking for clues. “Anyone special in your life?”

Kurt smirks and lets Blaine hang for a moment, then smiles back. “Louisa at the corner bakery and I have an understanding about always making sure one of her lemon tarts is set aside for me, but other than that…”

Blaine relaxes, and stands up, and for one ridiculous moment Kurt thinks he’s about to get down on one knee. But then he just wipes his hands on his jeans and reaches a finger out to trace it over Kurt’s hand. “How about we give this another try?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Ideally, go on a few dates, become boyfriends, get married on the beach in Provincetown and live happily ever after?”

Kurt stands up and puts a hand on Blaine’s arm, moving in close. “You’re bold after a few drinks.”

“I figure we were a little vague about it all last time. Better to be clear.”

“I’m pretty busy with my show.” 

“I’m pretty busy with work,” Blaine responds calmly. “But I let you get away once, and I don’t want to do it again.”

Kurt’s heart soars. ”Yeah?”

“Yeah. Let’s give it a try.”

It’s hard to believe this is happening, but the look on Blaine’s face leaves no doubt where he’d like this moment to go. Kurt raises a hand to Blaine’s cheek, and his eyes drift closed as he leans into Kurt’s touch. When Kurt presses his lips to Blaine’s, it feels like coming home.

He kisses Blaine just long enough to leave him breathless, and then pulls back, finding Blaine’s eyes and smiling. “Okay. Let’s give it a try.”


End file.
